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Depo-Provera side affects

I was given a shot of depo-provera yesterday...and when I asked about side affects all I was told was nausea, headache, and dizziness.  After reading quite a few articles online, it seems there are a lot more serious side affects than I was led to believe.  I've been having lots of chest pain and shortness of breath, but the doctor doesn't seem to think it's related to the shot.  I need advice on what some of the most common side affects are, and if there is possibly any way to get this medication out of my system as quickly as possible.  I am concerned about weight gain as well, and was wondering how soon it became noticeable, and if there was a significant amount in the first three months.
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In December  2016 I had my first contraceptive injection ( the day I had finished my period) which I had not had sexual intercourse with my boyfriend for at least 7 days afterwards just to be safe. Every time we would engage in intercourse we would always use a condom, but we had intercourse twice with out a condom. I know we are both STI free as we are each otherfirst. Could there be a chance that Im pregnant? ( 1 in 100 women get pregnant on the depo-Provera shot) This past few days I have been feeling more hungry and I seem to feel very bloated. Am I pregnant? Or is bloating a side affect?
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12819615 tn?1427381378
That is true depo does cause bone lost and weight gain and that is why I am come back off the depo shot cause I been on it for a year now and I don't want no more problems cause depo can also kill a unborn baby to cause I was pregnant and my health department gave me the shot before a pregnancy test but after that they drew blood to check my iron and found out I was pregnant.
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Hey my daughter is 15 and has had been on Depo since Dec. When we went to get her shot in March they found that her blood pressure was very high! After going through test after test, they decided to put her on blood pressure medicine. She is so moody, very depressed, migraines that are keeping her home from school days at a time. I have asked the Dr a million times if this all is related to the Depo shot and over and over again they say there is no way. My daughter went on the Depo because every month she was suffering with cysts bursting on her ovaries and the Dr said that this is the best treatment. I'm so worried about her please let me know if your daughter is ok and if there is light at the end of the tunnel
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do depo make your butt bigger
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My daughter too is now homebound from school.  She is 15 and she had attempted suicide a couple of months ago due to her depression  - it was recommended by her psychiatrist and her primary care physician that she go on depo thinking her cycle was causing this depression.  What a mistake - her depression got worse - all she does is either cry like someone died or sleep.  she can't go to school or snow board or shop - She is completely dysfunctional.  I don't know what to do at this point.  This depo was the biggest mistake we have ever made.  I wish I had seen this sooner.  Hoping it will be out of her system soon.  I hope your daughter gets better too.
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Tell her Do Not Get It!!! My 14 year old did and now has a chronic headache we cannot relieve going on 2 months and is now home bound from school!
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I got my depo shot two weeks ago for the first time. My current side effects are low sex drive and back pain. My back pain is soooo bad. I cant bend over or lift heavy. Im pretty athletic, now i cant even work out or pick up my kid. Im considering going to the e.r. Today. The pain doesn't let up at all.
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Im SO sorry for your losses due to this Depo crap! I am having my second PANIC ATTACK since being on Depo that started 4 days ago! I am having chest pains, shortness of breath, weakness, lack of appetite, anxiety AND severe high blood pressure. The ER and the VA (Im a veteran) cannot figure out what's wrong with me, but in reading the Depo side effects, I know this is the reason I feel this way. And there is nothing I can do until it is out of my system. I hate feeling this way. It's scary as hell! I recommend it to NO ONE!!!!!
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im 49 and av been on the deppo for 22 years im suffering teribble with my bk and hands and knees iv got to be tested for brittle bone please think carefully before taking this
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I'm currently 45.  I was 28 and had just recently delivered my second child when I was introduced to Depo.  My OB/GYN was very reassuring and spoke of Depo in very glowing terms.  She stated that there was a low risk of side effects, other than possible weight gain, but that most women who were going to gain weight on Depo generally did so shortly after starting it.  

It should be noted that I was slightly underweight at 5'3" and about 105 pounds when I first started taking the shot shortly after delivering my son.  In the ensuing months, while I initially welcomed the weight gain, which provided some much-needed fat to helped to fill out my curves, I gained roughly 50-60 pounds over slightly more than 24 months.  I had VIOLENT mood swings, most of which ended up on - and lingered at - the negative end of the mood spectrum.  I was not fit to live with!  My sex drive was nonexistent.  My poor husband started using a calendar to track how often we WEREN'T having sex!  And I would spontaneously begin bleeding with no warning between shots.  I was in a veritable hell!!

My concerns about the apparent side effects of Depo went unheeded.  My OB/GYN said that my appetite had changed, and this was the reason for the weight gain.  What a CROCK!!  I had not changed my eating habits one iota!!  And she didn't really offer any explanation or possible solution for my other complaints.  And while I did not object to having no period, and had no plans to conceive again, I DID object to the negative side effects I had experienced.  

Ultimately, I elected to discontinue the Depo on my own, and against the advice of my OB/GYN, approximately two years after initiating it.   My health insurance plan also changed shortly thereafter due to a job change, so I found another OB/GYN.  

She was more sympathetic to my complaints, validating my concerns.  Birth control was still an issue, but because of the runaway weight gain, she unequivocally ruled out any hormonal means of birth control as a possibility, stating that she could not say when the weight gain would stop.  

I turned to condoms, and while discontinuing the Depo did help my mood vastly, and my periods to return to normal, it did NOT result in weight loss.  In fact, my weight has continued to be an issue for me, despite the fact that my weight was NEVER an issue for more than the first half of my life!!

In graduate school, I met two women who had also been on Depo.  One had lost weight on the shot.  The other had an experience similar to mine, gaining multiple tens of pounds.  I felt somewhat validated, but was still desperate to reverse the weight gain.  

Despondent about the weight I had gained and was unable to lose, I researched Depo further, discovering that there had been a lawsuit against the drug's manufacturer, but the class action litigation had been settled shortly before I was introduced to it by the OB/GYN who attended my second pregnancy.  Of course, she failed to mention to me that there had even BEEN a class action lawsuit about the side effects of Depo!!  I have also since learned that, in recent research, Depo has been deemed to be diabetogenic!!  

Fast forward to 2006.  My periods had been regular since discontinuing the shot, but became progressively heavier and heavier.  I have since undergone endometrial ablation TWICE:  once in December 2008, and again last year in October.  I do not know whether Depo can be implicated in the issue of my endometrial hypertrophy, but given all of the other myriad problems it has caused, it wouldn't surprise me if this were a direct and/or proxinal cause!  

I also continue to struggle with my weight, a battle which has been exacerbated by a diagnosis of fibromyalgia in the summer of 2010.  While I have had some limited success with reducing my weight over the years, this has continued to be an uphill battle as I have been unable to maintain the loss, despite vigilance about food intake and physical activity.  To find that I am not the only woman to experience these untoward effects of Depo does offer a measure of validation to my complaints and concerns.  I only wish that there were a way to permanently reverse the effects of the Depo and alleviate my continued suffering.  .   .
  
I recently met someone through my job who shared that she, too, experienced catastrophic weight gain with Depo.  However, whereas my weight gain was fairly insidious in that it occurred over the two years that I was on the shot, and continued long after I had discontinued it, the woman in question stated that she started Depo shortly after delivering her first child 19 years ago and gain 30 POUNDS IN THE FIRST WEEK AFTER THE INITIAL INJECTION!!!  Understandably, her OB/GYN was QUITE ALARMED by this!!  Unfortunately, she was disillusioned to learn that there was NOTHING that could be done to reverse Depo's effects once she had received the shot.  And like me and other women I have met, her weight had NEVER been a factor prior to Depo.  

For women who have had success with Depo, I congratulate you.  However, for anyone who has no interest in being a guinea pig for the sake of convenient contraception, I would STRONGLY urge you to consider alternative methods of birth control.  In my opinion, the risks of Depo just ARE NOT WORTH IT!!!  
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One more thing I forgot to mention...I gained 10 lbs in the first month and  I work out 3 - 4 times a week and eat pretty healthy and it won't come off...
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Omg, I feel so bad for you. I too am in my 40's and started depo last year. I just had my 3rd shot in the middle of February and have experienced headaches and extreme anger over things that wouldn't normally bother me. There are times when I think I'm going to explode. I was experiencing other things too that I didn't think were from the shot but now I realize they are..like anxiety, tingling in left hand, difficulty with speach, and I'm sure If i think hard enough, I can come up with other side effects that I haven't credited to the shot. This will be my last one and I want it out of my system ASAP. I hope things turn back to normal for you soon. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.  
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I took the depo shot for 2 years. I started taking it when I was almost 40 by recomendation from my doctor. I was having really bad periods and even worse cramps with some spotting in between. My doctor thought this was because I had an enlarged uterus. He suggested the shot for my symptoms but didn't warn me of the side effects. The only thing said to me was that some women hate it and some love it. He said I might have some light spotting but that was it. The first year I did great but I did spot, and sometimes a little more than spot, for the first entire year. I didn't have any other symptoms though and since my period stopped I thoguht I was in Heaven. The second year I finally stopped spotting and still had no period. I then started to have side effects. The problem was that I didn't even know these were side effects of the shot. My hair started falling out by the handfuls but I blamed this on being on a diet. My teeth became brittle and my gums were receeding. I blamed this on smoking. I gained about 25 pounds but I blamed this on quitting my diet since I thought this was causing my hair to fall out. My mood and even my sex drived changed big time. I felt like I was just either angry or sad all of the time. My sex drive did not exist period. I thought these things were just coming along with age or even stress. When it was time for my last shot (in oct 2012) I asked my doctor if I should continue the shot as we had discussed me only taking it for 2 years. He said that it was up to me to decide. He said he didn't care either way but if I wanted to see if my periods would come back and be more regulated that I could stop the shot and see how it went. I told him about all of the symptoms I was having and asked if it were possible that they were related to taking the shot. He told me that maybe the weight gain was but he seriously doubted it because we all knew how to eat healthy and if we didn't we knew we'd gain weight. Well my mouth just flew open and I was insulted but what did I know. After that,I started reading online and I was horrified to say the least! Women on every site about the depo shot had the same complaints and even worse than what I was having! I was just shocked and mad at my doctor at the same time! Needless to say I have learned my lesson that sometimes the Dr. Isn't always right! My last shot was in Oct 2012 and so was my last visit to that Dr! My hair is falling out worse than ever before. This weekend I cried everday. I am afraid that I will be bald soon in the back of my head. I have had some very light spotting, my boobs are so sore that I cannot touch them or lay on my stomach and one second I'm happy, the next I'm either crying or mad. I've not gained any more weight yet and my teeth and gums are about the same and so is the sex drive. I hope and pray everyday that this horrible drug just leaves my system. I wonder if I will ever be normal again. I guess time will tell. I will take my hellacious cramps and bad periods over this. Hopefully I won't be completely bald. My hair was the only thing that I really liked about myself. Everybody says oh its only hair and it will grow back. I say oh that is b.s. And if were them they would feel the same way. THanks for listening and woooo that felt great to actually get all of that out! I plan to update as soon as there's any change! Thanks for letting me vent!
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im 17 and my mom thought depo would be best for me so i didnt get pregnant, the shot has horrible side effects i constantly look like im 5 months pregnant im hungry i have major cramps i have no period but pass blood clots all month its makes your breast sore and im constantly tired so to anyone who is thinking about getting the shot make sure you read up on the side effect because it effects everyone differently!
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I got my first shot and my Doc wasnt concernd at all about me taking it. I had weight gain before I took it and was not aware that it was unsafe for me to have it. The nurse let me know of this and I asked if it was safe for me to have it. She said I should be fine just try lose some weight which I have started to do. The next day my back was in so much pain and my injection sight was red and black. I thought this must not be normal and stayed in my bed for the day. Then a couple of days later I had sever depression which I never had. My partner was so afraid and had no idea what was going on. I have had the drug in my system for a few weeks now and would not recommend this. I cannot deal with the depression I have had. I am now seeing a counselor and in need of anti depression. I do  not feel well at all!
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i got the shot sep 28th after being confirmed that i had miscarried, ive noticed gained weight because my jeans are tight but ive actually been loosing weight since i got it. i do get very depressed & cry over everything but i havent experienced vaginal dryness or extreme mood swings. ive been bleeding since  sep 28th. it started with heavy bright red blood and then got lighter its october 13th and i still have bleeding its very light. like drops.
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I really want to get off this Depo shot ..but I'm reading everyones stories and I can relate to some of the symptoms but then I see there's no hope except waiting it out. everytime I get up from sitting down or from laying down I get very dizzy ..I also get chest pains ..and my rib cages hurt a lot. I havnt had headaches yet but the dr said I will. I feel sore pain in the vaginal area after sex and I just hate this pill it's making mr break out a lot. It's like being 14 all over again. I don't get my period obviously I never was regular but I rather get my period then be on this shot. Sometimes I feel a big loss in my appetite like i don't want to eat. I believe I'm losing weight and it scares me because the real reason I got on the shot was to gain weight. I'm 105.or was and I can't afford to lose weight I'll hate myself. I can't wait till November. I almost forgot depression . & moodswings ..it's terrible . I do not recommend this birth control to anyone . Even though it's different for everyone
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I'm sixteen. I took the Depo Provera shot about a month ago. It's the worst thing I've experienced. No, I haven't had weight gain (yet) and no, I haven't had consistent bleeding. I'm utterly grateful for that. But I do notice a difference in my behavior and appearance. I look more fatigued than usual. I can't seem to sleep (I went from sleeping 15 hours a day to 4.) My hair falls out in multiple strings during my shower, out of the shower. The worst part of it is that I can't stop being depressed. I am an emotional wreck. I took a pregnancy test and performed a self- check to see if it was my own personal emotions effecting me. But no. I am usually a happy teenager, with a boyfriend that I truly love and care about. Lately, since the Depo, I've been feeling extremely insecure and just so sad. My mood swings back and forth constantly. I am torn between being my normal happy self for 30 minutes to being a depressed, quiet, tearful being for hours on end. Nothing seems to make me happy when I'm like that. The mood is triggered by silly things but then stays for so long that I don't even remember why I got like that in the first place, I only recall the pain. I cry constantly from it. I'm afraid to go off of it because of the delayed heavy bleeding and fearful to stay on it because of my depression. I can only cross my fingers and hope that I feel, and stay, happy.
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Avatar universal
I'm sixteen. I took the Depo Provera shot about a month ago. It's the worst thing I've experienced. No, I haven't had weight gain (yet) and no, I haven't had consistent bleeding. I'm utterly grateful for that. But I do notice a difference in my behavior and appearance. I look more fatigued than usual. I can't seem to sleep (I went from sleeping 15 hours a day to 4.) My hair falls out in multiple strings during my shower, out of the shower. The worst part of it is that I can't stop being depressed. I am an emotional wreck. I took a pregnancy test and performed a self- check to see if it was my own personal emotions effecting me. But no. I am usually a happy teenager, with a boyfriend that I truly love and care about. Lately, since the Depo, I've been feeling extremely insecure and just so sad. My mood swings back and forth constantly. I am torn between being my normal happy self for 30 minutes to being a depressed, quiet, tearful being for hours on end. Nothing seems to make me happy when I'm like that. The mood is triggered by silly things but then stays for so long that I don't even remember why I got like that in the first place, I only recall the pain. I cry constantly from it. I'm afraid to go off of it because of the delayed heavy bleeding and fearful to stay on it because of my depression. I can only cross my fingers and hope that I feel, and stay, happy.
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Avatar universal
i received my depo shot a few weeks ago after a miscarriage. apparently my chosen form of birth control didn't work and it was suggested by the dr. I have been fine. my periods usually start around the 13th. it is now the 23rd and i have finally started.

the past 10 days have been like a roller coaster for me.... and i have been moody (because of the miscarriage?) and today i finally started. i have been crying all day and have really bad cramps. i cant tell if it is just me, or if it is the depo... but i was researching to try to find what sort of anitdepressant is safe to take with depo.

my body does not feel normal, and i actually had 3 arguments with the bf today,  he was sweet, but he could not do anything right... which is not his fault it is mine. i actually dared him to leave me... and that is not like me at all.

good news is that my period is like droplets, which is cool....but i have been so wet for the past little while that i didn't even realize that it started. guess i am the opposite of most people, who express dryness. i have also had a high libido, which would be wonderful if the bf lived closer. instead it is just annoying.

but, like i said i dont know if this is because of the depo or the miscarriage, or getting the shot so soon after the miscarriage (about a month).
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Avatar universal
i started taking the depo shot when i was 13(which was 5 years ago now)..i know kinda early for a girl to start taking birth control..but i didnt have the best begining to my teenage girl years.i stopped taking the shot 2 years ago in march.my periods started to finally become regular in december of 2009..after i have been off the shot a year.there is a family history of reproduction issues for the women in my family.now that i am almost 19 years old and engaged to a wonderful man..we are starting to talk about later having children.we actually thought that we were having a baby..but for 2 months now everytime i think im pregnant i start my period.i am so scared that i am infertile..i am starting to go to the doctor to get my fertility testing..i dont know if my problems were bought on by genetics or the shot.but regardless i do not advise any woman to take the depo shot..i had many problems with it.emotionally and physically.and i feel like they are still with me after 2 years now..
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Avatar universal
I don't like to comment on these things but whatever who cares.
I want to share my story on Depo ..

I am 14 and my parents are divorced. My dad has a nasty ,nasty girlfriend . Well , she told me she would do everything she could in her power to ruin my life. She's done it all ....But as she said, she would do anything in her power to ruin my life..

Well. She hasnt done it until she forced me to get Depo Provera.
I dont think or act like myself now. I feel like a five year old. My hormones are stopped. I'm not growing the same - I'm not feeling the same, or talking the same, or thinking the same, and everyone is noticing. This is not at all how i normally think. My ambition and personality is  affectedd too ..I also completely lost all my sex drive.  I feel like a child. Not to mention all the other side effects - I had a period that lasted 15 days once the medicine kicked in, and weight gain, a change in my appetite , and it basically  affected my whole life. i'm scared to death that this may ruin my life if this stays in my system . I'm scared that because i took it at such a young age, that i may never mature to how i was before or to the maturity i should be at - mentally, emotionally, + physically. i would never wish this on someone. i've been through a lot in my life  .. more than another kid my age.. and this is by far the worst.. i hope that God will fix this for me.
and i hope that anyone close to my age doesnt get this shot.. it's hell..
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Avatar universal
I wonder ladies if we are missing something.  For years Catholicism taught abstaining was the surest form of birth control.  Sex before marriage was frowned upon, however, understanding human nature women were taught to use a natural form of birth control called "the rhythm method".  Some laugh at this nowdays, but I think that the Catholics were on to something.  Is there a doctor out there that will help us women and our young daughters.  Instead of them saying to use here is your quick fix take this pill every day or get this shot once every 3 months, this is your best solution and it will make your life more convenient hint hint make pharmeceutical companies billions will the take the time and sit down with us and teach us the natural ways to serve our bodies.  Will they take give us a class on the rhythm method and have us come in once a month for 3 months to check our progress and how we are charting our bodies natural process.  That is with all medical problems and decisions.  Healthcare only pays for your medical doctor's visits, who in turn prescribe us medication that may work and if not they would move on to the next drug on the list to see if it works and then the next and the next and so on.  So the doctors get wealthy because every time you visit they get paid and the drug companies get paid from the perscriptions that the doctor prescribes you, but do we ever get healed.  If you decide to go the holistic route to heal your ailments healthcare will not pay for that.  I'm lost does not healthcare mean that you care enough about my health that you want to offer the best possible solutions for us.  If you go thru menopause a medical Dr will give you a prescription for estrogen, but a holistic Dr will give you the remedy that our great great great .... grandmothers used which were natural not synthetically engineered.  I'm not saying that healthcare is a conspiracy.  All I'm saying is that from my daughter and many others taking the depo shot the drug companies are not just receiving money for the shot, but they are profiting from the medicines and treatments/procedures used to treat the side effects of the depo shot .  Medicines and treatments/procedures for the osteo conditions, migraines, excessive weight gain, dermatology conditions, birth control pills to start menustration, psychological disagnoses , hair loss, treatments for the shortness of breath or heart problems and trips to the ER for these, the pain meds for back problems, the cost of the test that are run to diagnose these medical problems, and one of the most expensive procedures fertilization procedures that cost a ridiculous amount of money for 1 procedure and many have to go thru 3 or more to conceive and some invest and never conceive because they have taken depo so long that the effect is not reversible.  This is only a short list of the meds and procedures that are needed to treat the side effects or just get your body back to where it should naturally be.  Imagine if we went in with our side effects of depo to a holistic doctor and they told us to get off of the depo better still not to take any form of birth control at all, but educated us in the rhythm method of birth control then what they did next amazed us instead of prescribing a list of drugs they gave us a natural detox plan to get the depo out of our system then they gave us a list of natural products for example ginger root and rosemary hips that would help us get our body back on track and most of the herbs etc. that we were give he encouraged us to grown in the backyard or our homes or the balconies of our condos or apartments. Then to top that off they would help us set up a realistic exercise program and didn't tell us to diet but they set up a proper diet plan for a lifetime eating habit and told us to make sure that we got at least 1 hr of fresh air throughout the day and some sun because we needed the vitamin D (don't tan just get some sun)  which could be accomplished very easily if we created that garden they mentioned above and grew our own fruits, vegetables and herbs.  More importantly what if these visits were covered by our health insurance?  WOW we would probably be so healthy that Drs might actually become obsolete at least in the sense in how they exist now and how we now depend on them today.  I know that some people would think I don't have time to do all this and I definitely don't have time to count the days of my period and try to figure out when I'm ovulating more or less plant a garden.  Then maybe we need to slow down as a society and figure that if we took the time to do these things then it wouldn't take a lot of time in the long run.  You see now most of our bodies are so polluted from the processed and fasst foods that we eat,  the products that we use with names we can't even began to pronounce more or less know what they are,and the manufactured meds that we take that we can't hear our bodies screaming warnings to us through all of the chaos, but if our bodies were given more natural care  when they whispered warnings to us it would be as audible as a scream.  The problem for most is that in order to get this kind of treatment it has to be out of pocket because healthcare do not recognize this as a medical treatment and most people can't even afford to go in for the initial holistic consultation.  Some consultations cost well over $300 and $500 and that is because they don't get healthcare money only the money of those that can afford the fee.     They will pay for chriopracters to crack you neck or back, but not for you to get a colon cleanse or aqua clense from a holistic business.  Aqua clense works that is where they put your feet in water with a natural substance that pulls the toxins out of your body thru the pores of your feet.  The water changes color and just by the color of the water they can tell you what type of meds you are taking and the cleanse leaves you feeling refreshed and colon and aqua cleanses help to detox depo. Sorry I didn't mean to bore you.
ALL IN ALL DEPO IS BAD AS I'M SURE MOST ENGINEERED BIRTH CONTROL ARE REMEMBER YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE BEAT TO A MICHAEL JACKSON SONG TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE THE "RHYTHM MEDTHOD" FORM  OF BIRTH CONTROL.
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Avatar universal
I have been on Depo for 16 years.  I stopped having a period about 3-5 months after my first shot.  I was never told of the long term effects of this shot.  I would like to share that I experienced the weight gain to the point that I had gastric bypass surgery, however having the surgery and taking the pill both cause bone density I know suffer from osteopenia which is the beginning of osteoporosis, I also experienced hair loss not to the point of baldness but I started with very very thick hair and it was course and curly now its straighter and thinner in volume.  You should be told not to remain on this shot for long term because you will loose your bone density.  I started at age 30 I'm now 46 and before I start menopause I decided to go off of it and also because my bones are getting worse with prolong use of depo.  I cant say if my mood swings or sometimes having depression or irritability is a result of this becuase normal every day people experience this without being on depo, life does this to you.  All birth contol methods cause some kind of side effects when I was younger I was on the pill an it caused me vericose veins which never went away.  I did go off for about a year and went on the patch, I did experience some breast tenderness, about the same someone would feel when they were getting close to their period or what you experience when your pregnant.  I dont say its dangerous everything is, I would say read up on it before considering it, but I definetly would not recommend long term use anything over 4 years.  I hope that I will regain or at least stop my bone loss, I am very  upset with my Doctors, that I was not given more test frequently and early in my use of depo, I had to ask for it, as I was told that this test is only given to women after menopause, and this was after 10 years of being on it.  Had I had a bone test earlier and found out that I was developing the bone loss then I probably would have gone off the shot long ago.  So the 4 major side effects I suffered in the long term use of this shot was 1. no periods (no problem there) 2. Bone loss. 3. weight gain 100 lbs in 7 years. 4. hair loss (but not baldness).  I never got sick, felt ill, while on it, never experienced any discomfort of any kind, other then the weight gain and hair loss which is visible the rest had to be determind by testing me I wouldnt have been able to tell you that I had these problems. Otherwise I am a very healthy person.
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